Ramon “The Bicolano” Gonzales is turning heads in the ONE Championship Strawweight division, and he has no plans of stopping.
Gonzales will be making a return to the ONE ring when he takes on China’s Hexigetu on the undercard of ONE: DREAMS OF GOLD, 16 August at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand.
“I’m so happy for this new opportunity – excited and humbled for every fight that is given to me,” Gonzales said.
“My training has been good. Team Kyokushin is always there to help me everyday. We work on our striking and ground skills. Everyday I’m at my best to prepare myself for this bout,” he added.
A win in this bout would be Gonzales’ fourth-straight in The Home Of Martial Arts – a stark contrast to his start in this organization.
The 32-year old opened his ONE campaign with back-to-back losses, but his will was unbending.
Gonzales came back stronger, while also proving that he’s more than just a striker. The Albay, Bicol native racked up consecutive submission wins – showcasing that he’s a lot more dangerous than his kicks.
In his latest outing, Gonzales scored a quick submission victory in front of his countrymen as he forced Akihiro Fujisawa to tap by guillotine choke at ONE: ROOTS OF HONOR last April.
While winning is certainly an amazing feeling, for Gonzales it only pushes him to be better as the expectations get higher with every victory.
“Winning consecutively really helps, but more than that it helps me as a person as it makes me strive for more and be grateful for what I have,” Gonzales shared.
Standing in his way is “The Wolf Of The Grasslands” in Hexigetu, someone who’s just coming off a morale-building win.
The pride of Horqin, Inner Mongolia registered his first win in ONE Championship with a dominant display against Ovais “The Enigma” Shah in the opening bout of ONE: WARRIORS OF LIGHT in Bangkok last May.
Gonzales vows not to take this lightly.
“Hexigetu is a wrestler as well as a striker. He is also the teammate of one of my opponents before in ONE. That’s why I am eager to work hard for this,” Gonzales shared.
“Perseverance, determination and focus, those are the things that I need to have against Hexigetu. There are a lot of people who believe in me, it’s all about believing in myself.”
